My first stop on New Years Day (after leaving Drew & Eden), was First Wesleyan Church, Brunswick, Georgia. My college classmate Phil Harrington is pastor here, and we hadn’t seen each other in 45 years. Phil is a warm-hearted southern gentleman and it was great seeing him again.

Day two included erecting our 145-foot, 75-year history timeline in the hotel ballroom, as we prepared for the start of National Staff Conference.

It looked pretty impressive when it was all finished.

I helped with the banners and other signage, an important part of the conference’s communications package.

I thought the platform staging looked particularly impressive. Here’s the team that designed it and put it together.

It was great reconnecting with InterVarsity staff from all over the country. The poolside reception on opening night was especially nice.

The views from our 22nd floor hotel room window were also pretty nice. My roommate (my brother Jim), took this futuristic scene.

The skies are busy over Orlando.

The ground level scenery is also pretty nice. I wish I could’ve gotten out more.

Eventually staff conference ended and I headed back north towards Savannah. I drove along the Florida coast, north of Daytona Beach for awhile.

The traffic was light and the scenery was peaceful, I enjoyed a beautiful Saturday afternoon drive.

Sunday after church Drew & I found a burger joint in Savannah to watch the Packers beat the Giants. The first half was not so good but the second half was great.

Got an early start on Monday morning, and by the time I got to Atlanta, rush hour was almost over.

They’d had some snow in Atlanta, but by the time I got there the chaos was over.

My good friend Mike Osborne met me in Murfreesboro for lunch and we caught up on the past 15 years.

The sun set over Illinois farm fields, and I still had several hours to go, but it was great to start 2017 with a road trip, especially when it involved seeing family, lots of friends, and warm southern temperatures.